Letters to the Editor: Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Wednesday

Jan 2, 2013 at 9:23 AMJan 2, 2013 at 9:32 AM

Grocery Santa… Slash gun owners’ rights? They did nothing wrong

Grocery SantaTo the editor,

On Dec. 24, my wife sent me to Country Market on West Maumee with a list of last-minute grocery items to purchase. While checking out and getting ready to pay the $26, the cashier (Stacy) said the man behind me had paid for my items.

I turned to thank him and he said “You don’t know who I am, do you?” I replied, “No, you don’t have to do this.” The gentleman wished me a Merry Christmas.

As I walked to my car, I felt the spirit of giving in Adrian, just like in Newtown and New Jersey.

Gary McNittAdrian

Slash gun owners’ rights? They did nothing wrongTo the editor,

The mass shooting at Sandy Hook School was a tragedy. There are not words adequate to express the emotions thrust upon us by that event.

Immediately, tens of millions of law-abiding gun owners are being blamed for something they did not do. The problem in situations such as Sandy Hook is the total failure of looking at and understanding what happened.

I personally blame the government. They refused to protect those precious children and teachers. They made it impossible for them to be defended. Government is more guilty than whomever pulled the trigger.

Both sides of the discussion disagree with the other. It is an asymmetric conflict. Anti-gunners want to punish law-abiding gun owners. They do not care and ignore that tens of millions of law-abiding citizens were not involved. Gun owners want to reduce violence and punish the people responsible. Which makes more sense?

A major problem is both sides of the argument want to use statistics to prove their point. There are many statistics. Often statistics about the same things disagree. Underlying that, many keepers of statistics have an agenda that requires results that support their agenda. Truth or accuracy may not be the goal. Often statistics are intentionally misleading. People “cherry pick” facts to support their view and dispute the other. It goes nowhere. People who do not have a side ignore both.

That leaves us to use our brains. We can wish that people would not appear and start harming anyone. “Gun-free zones” have repeatedly demonstrated that is not the case. Bad people exist. Pretending they do not always ends horribly.

My opinion is folks should be discussing the problem, which is NOT gun owners. To me, the problem is violence, not guns. Gun owners are not trying to force anyone to buy a gun. Gun owners wish the people who are the loudest in the discussion knew something about guns. They do not. I personally wish everyone received firearm instruction to know some facts. It would be a good place to evaluate those who should be allowed to have guns, or not.

I think folks need understanding with respect to firearms. Understanding is a better solution than ignorance. Folks should be allowed to decide about gun ownership. It is our constitutional right.

Violence is the problem. It is perpetrated by criminals, kooks and druggies. Address violence, and gun and any other violence decreases.